Service design is an emerging design practice with an interdisciplinary heritage. Most previous research has been based on what service designers do, with little connection to more established service marketing/management research. The main purpose of this thesis is to contribute knowledge to the emerging service design discourse through conceptual comparisons of key concepts in the design and service management literatures, including user involvement and co-creation.

The conceptual landscape developed in the thesis encompasses areas of design research, including design thinking, service design and design management. These areas are related to service management research, with a specific focus on Service-Dominant logic and service innovation. Wetter Edman proposes a framework presenting service design through five characteristics: as 1) an interdisciplinary practice, using 2) visualization & prototyping, and 3) participation as means for developing the design object, seen as 4) transformation, and 5) value creation. This framework leads to an understanding of service design practice as a continuously repositioning activity.

Further, Wetter Edman argues that the relation between service marketing/management and service design is complementary and mutually productive, particularly in tools and methods for user involvement and co-creation. Design practice can help realize Service Dominant logic, and a service perspective can help open up new positions for design practice.